More progress...

Progress continues on the house... the wrap roof over the side / back of house was next on the schedule (the front portion of the wrap roof will be done when the porch is put in).

Then they were able to focus on getting the garage (& room above it) started...

We are liking the ladders well enough that we are considering keeping them in lieu of stairs & just adding fireman poles for the quick way down! Ha...

Checking out the dormer in the room over the garage...

 

If a tree falls and no one is there to hear it, does it make noise??

Thankfully we weren't around when the storm that took this tree down came through, but one of our vehicles happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time!

At first glance, we thought we might have gotten lucky & it only fell by it...

... but after moving it, we found the lucky part was that the bulk of the tree missed my truck & only some secondary branches got it.  These branches were still large enough that some damage was done, however.

It whacked off the side mirror, the antenna & put a few dents / scrapes in the side door, from fender & wheel well...

SUMMERTIME FUN!

Last weekend in Loring Park, New Belgium Brewing (makers of Fat Tire & other fine malty beverages) held their Tour de Fat bike festival in Minneapolis.  So we hopped on our bikes to check out this fine fest.  It was quite the eclectic, crazy mix... people dressed up in all sorts of crazy stuff (anything goes), 2 stages with entertainment & obviously lots of New Belgium Beers to drink.  It was a free event, other than the beer... and full of lots of fun!  If it hits a town near you, you should check it out!  (http://www.newbelgium.com/tour-de-fat) We took in a show knicknamed the "Honeymoon Caberet" & part way in, Mike was pulled up on stage... "yah, you... the tall guy in khaki shorts!"

First they did this little trick with a kid... then they thought they'd try it with the over 6 foot guy!

And then he thought he was done.... not quite, he was too good a sport!

Oh what are they up to this time...

All the while, there was a lot of humorous banter between the 2 performers... between them & Mike's expressions, I was crying because I was laughing so hard!

And finally we figured out what she was up to...

After the big show, we wandered around some...

... found a sit-n-spin to try & eventually Mike & Brandon had to try out the area where there are no-so-traditional "bikes" to try out.  They were made from anything & everything... some had wheels made of tennis shoes, some were tandems where they were side-by side or back-to-back, some were big bikes with little wheels & others big wheels with little bikes...

...this one was made from a folding chair...

... this was one of the "new ride" commuter bikes that have been launched all around downtown...

& this was a crazy 3-wheeled contraption.

It was fun watching people try to ride the bikes as some were very difficult to ride!

After the big festival, we got the canoe out on Lake Calhoun & canoed through Lake of the Isles over to Cedar Lake.  We did the same thing on 4th of July & the kids wanted to go back.  As we neared the swim beach, they wanted to jump out of the canoe & swim to shore...

We played / swam at the beach... but kept seeing people come down to the water who were covered in dry mud... like they had been in a mud bath at a spa.  So we had to investigate!  Turns out there is a natural mud bog just down a path from the beach that people frequent.

The kids had a ball mucking through the mud...

... we opted to not do the full body immersion as others were doing!

Going up...

Our builder is moving along, despite the hot & humid as well as rainy weather...

 The second floor went up fast...

Checking out Melanie's room

After the second floor was finished, the roof trusses were next...

... and they had a windy day for it!

We finally had a chance to check the progress out first hand... eventually this doorway will lead to the room that is above the garage.

The kids love checking out the house!

They finished the roof while we were there... in time for more rain!

Next up will be the trusses for the lower roof that wraps around... those are some LONG trusses!

Just June...

Where oh where did June go?  Month one of our summer is the city is gone...

Mike has enjoyed riding his bike to the light rail in the morning, hopping on for his morning commute into work (which goes to within 1 blk of work) & then he rides his bike all the way home in the evening.

We've gotten in lots of evening bike rides... we are 1 mile from the Green Way trail & then 1 more mile to the downtown lakes.

Melanie takes on the Green Way! 

She has been doing lots of biking... she is determined to lose her training wheels this summer & is doing a great job practicing riding fast & balancing!

There are lots of playgrounds around the lakes, so the kids have enjoyed that as well as the swim beaches.  It is 6.6 miles round trip, so the kids & I are able to hop on our bikes & go often... Brandon is a great rider (he's already done two 22mi rides this summer) & Melanie is a good passenger in the trailer!

Playing at Lake Calhoun

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

We celebrated Father's Day with a great walk to the Basilica of St Mary's (about 1.5 miles from our house)...

... meandering through Loring Park & through some great old neighborhoods, including one that Ed lived in over 50 years ago.

Father's Day was also our 9 year anniversary... & we were lucky to get to celebrate on our own (the kids left with Gram & Grandpa to stay on the farm for a week)!  We took in a bike ride to the Stone Arch festival where we enjoyed some music & a few beers...

...  & then grilled up a nice dinner back at our place.